comStar Firewall alert - PhaseThrough

of more than one sprite at a time. While the chances of facing an
opposing technomancer are, in the early 2070s, fairly small, the
Decompiling skill should not be overlooked as the threat of wild
sprites and other strange phenomena grow in the digital realm.
Finally, the skills of the Influence skill group should not be overlooked.
The only part of a person that is apparent in the Matrix is
their personality. The ability to communicate in the Matrix is useful,
if not vital to a team’s success. Credentials can be created, paperwork
planted, and authority authored, but such forgeries carry much more
weight when presented by someone with confidence. Social engineering
is sometimes a necessary part of the hacker’s arsenal.
For non-specialists, the Computer and Data Search skills
should be sufficient for life with the Matrix 2.0. Many of the actions
that such characters perform are Extended Tests, so low skill
ratings are still effective with smaller dice pools.
QUaLitieS
A character can be a Matrix user without taking a single quality.
However, some qualities make a character more effective in the digital
realm, and others should be avoided. In order to be a technomancer,
on the other hand, a character must have the Technomancer positive
quality or one of the technomancer qualities that appear later in this
chapter (see p. 36). Some qualities to consider are listed below.
aptitude and codeslinger
The Aptitude and Codeslinger qualities add to the character’s
ability to use one skill or Matrix action, respectively. Each may only
be taken for a single skill or Matrix action, but if taken together
and in relation, they can create a peerless hacker. For example, a
character with Aptitude (Cybercombat) and Codeslinger (Attack)
would be a fearsome force in the Matrix, while a character with
Aptitude (Electronic Warfare) and Codeslinger (Detect Hidden
Node) would know all of the secrets around her.
exceptional attribute and natural Hardening
Both of these qualities increase the longevity of a hacker.
Natural Hardening helps protect the character against dumpshock
and the feedback from black IC and rigging. An exceptional
Willpower also helps against this damage, and aids the technomancer
even further by increasing his Firewall.
photographic Memory
This quality may be overlooked by the average player. While
file transfer rates are ridiculously fast in the digital realm, security is
just as swift. Sometimes a hacker does not have the time to transfer
a file or search for data. This quality allows the hacker to remember
what she otherwise might miss due to a rapid retreat. This quality
can also be used as “poor man’s storage” for technomancers, who
otherwise lack storage space.
adept
While magic and technology rarely mix, adept powers (see pp.
187–189, SR4, and pp. 174–180, Street Magic) can readily augment
a hacker’s duties. Trodes allow a user to access VR without the invasiveness
of cyberware, allowing an adept to keep her Magic rating
intact. The Improved Ability power increases a hacking adept’s skills
directly. Improved Reflexes allows an adept to use her AR interface
more quickly and efficiently, allowing her to approach the perfor-
Unwired
mance of VR while mitigating the risks. Eidetic Sense Memory can
more reliably offer the same advantages as Photographic Memory,
and Multi-Tasking makes a hacker more efficient. The Sustenance
power allows a hacker to pull all-night coding sessions.
addiction
While this negative quality is not necessarily one a player
would take at character generation, it is one that most hackers develop.
Hot-sim offers several advantages to the Matrix specialist,
but it can be as addictive as BTL simsense. A hacker using hot-sim
on every run, without careful moderation, will slip down the slope
to severe addiction and Essence loss. Technomancers do not need
to worry about addiction to hot-sim, but have their own related
problems (see Technomancers, p 129).
combat paralysis
This negative quality is popular among players of Matrix
specialists. Care must be taken, however, because this quality is triggered
by Matrix combat as well as physical combat. When a node
launches black IC, a character with Combat Paralysis will certainly
have a lower Initiative than the IC and risks getting stuck.
technomancer
While this positive quality is obviously necessary to the technomancer
character, it should not be taken lightly. Technomancers
literally live in two worlds at once. It shapes their perceptions
and their personalities, and they experience things that no nontechnomancer
could imagine. For more on what it is like to be a
technomancer, see Technomancers, p. 129.
gear There are no two ways about it: a hacker is only as good as his
gear. A good hacker needs a state-of-the-art commlink and bleeding-edge
programs to tear up the ‘Trix and master the digital realm.
Even technomancers can benefit from the right equipment. The gear
listed here can be found in SR4, Augmentation, and Arsenal.
commlinks and other electronics
Every hacker has a commlink. While there are larger and more
capable machines, the commlink can go everywhere the hacker needs
to go, whether it be into secure corporate facilities or the battlefields
of the Desert Wars. It is important for all of a commlink’s Matrix attributes
to be as high as the hacker can afford, although it is usually
safe to skimp on Signal. A sim module is also vital when accessing VR,
and the advantages of hot-sim modification should not be ignored. A
simrig can also be useful for collecting intel on VR runs.
Characters might also find having an extra, weaker commlink
advantageous. Such a commlink could be used as a “public” commlink,
set to Active mode when in high-security zones while the
real commlink remains in Hidden mode and acting as a combination
of decoy and camouflage. Even technomancers may find such
a commlink to be useful.
The Matrix specialist must also consider electronic warfare.
A jammer, HERF gun, or EMP grenade (see p. 57, Arsenal) can be
used to deny electronic assets such as drones or communications
to opposing forces in the field. Defensively, the electronic warrior
should consider a satellite uplink for its high Signal Rrating, and
hardening to defend against electromagnetic attacks. Additionally,
Simon Wentworth (order #1132857) 9
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the Matrix user . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .